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Funding

Students studying at the graduate level generally require two types of funds – funds to pay for expenses such as housing, food, miscellaneous items, tuition, and textbooks and other course related materials; and funds to cover thesis or dissertation research related expenses. Few, if any, students have the financial resources to cover all of these expenses. Consequently, most students require some type of financial support to complete their graduate degree programs. CoF graduate students fund their educations in many different ways. Funding opportunities are available at the university (Graduate School), college, and department levels. In addition, some CoF students have also been successful in securing additional funding from external organizations and agencies.

Each year the College of Forestry awards graduate fellowships made possible from donations to the College. Fellowships are awards paid as a supplement to any GRA or other support. The funding year is generally for three terms (fall, winter, spring) starting in the fall. These funds are administered by the Student Resources & Engagement and selections are made by the College Graduate Fellowship Committee comprised of forestry faculty.

Application Process: Students wishing to be nominated for a College fellowship or major professors wishing to nominate a student must contact the appropriate departmental fellowship committee.Each of the College's three departments may nominate a fixed number of new and continuing students. New students must be accepted by their program before the fellowship nomination deadline posted in the fellowship program schedule. There are three rounds of nominations. Only new students may be nominated during the first and second rounds. The deadline for the third round is in mid- to late March when only continuing students may be nominated.

Students awarded a fellowship are expected to be registered as full-time students (at least 9 credits per term) during the period of the award and maintain a GPA greater than 3.0. In general, master’s students are eligible for two years (6 terms) of college fellowship support, doctoral students are eligible for three years (9 terms).

The College of Forestry has been awarded a number of University Laurels Scholarships for 2017-18. Laurels Scholarships are tuition remission resources, which may be awarded only as full or partial tuition scholarships to pay new and continuing students’ actual resident or nonresident graduate tuition charges. These funds are administered by the Student Services Office while selections are made at the department level. Funding may be awarded for one to three quarters (fall, winter, spring) starting in the fall. Students admitted for Fall 2016 and continuing students should contact their department for information on award availability and application procedures.

All qualified FES applicants are considered for financial assistance. No special application or additional materials are required. For full fellowship consideration applicants must be admitted by the posted deadline.

FES Scholarships

The FES Fellowship and Scholarship Committee awards several scholarships and fellowships each year. Department awards include the following:

J. Richard Dilworth Graduate Award in Forestry

The J. Richard Dilworth Memorial Fund was established in 1983 to honor long-time College of Forestry faculty member "Dick" Dilworth in order to "improve the quality of the programs in the College of Forestry". Awards from the memorial fund are available to graduate students in the Department of Forest Engineering, Resources, and Management and in the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, and are given in priority of scholarship,student travel, and teaching grants. See application guidelines here.

Travel Awards

The FES Fellowship and Scholarship Committee also administers the Richard and Doris Waring Graduate Student Travel Award program. Guidelines for submitting an application for support from this program are available at the following website:

If you have any questions about sources of support for your graduate program, direct them to your major professor or the FES Graduate Coordinator.

All qualified SFM applicants are considered for financial assistance. No special application or additional materials are required. For full fellowship consideration applications for admission must be submitted and completed by the posted deadline.

The graduate faculty of the Department of Forest Engineering, Resources and Management at Oregon State University are pleased to announce the availability of full time (0.49 FTE) fellowships for highly qualified incoming graduate students for the 2017-2018 academic year. Recipients will conduct graduate research within one of our six Areas of Concentration (AoC) and will pursue either a Masters (MS) or PhD-level program. For research details, see individual AoC announcements below. Successful applicants will have a record of high academic achievement, excellent writing ability, strong letters of reference, and exhibited potential for success in graduate study. Priority will be given to applications completed by December 31.

Graduate Assistantships

J. Richard Dilworth Graduate Award in Forestry

The J. Richard Dilworth Memorial Fund was established in 1983 to honor long-time College of Forestry faculty member "Dick" Dilworth in order to "improve the quality of the programs in the College of Forestry". Awards from the memorial fund are available to graduate students in the Department of Forest Engineering, Resources, and Management and in the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, and are given in priority of scholarship,student travel, and teaching grants. See application guidelines here.

Travel Awards

Lee Harris Graduate Student Travel Grants

Supports travel grants for graduate students in the Forest Engineering, Resources, and Management Department to participate in professional development opportunities where students represent or bring visibility to OSU, the College of Forestry, or the FERM department in academic or professional settings. Harris Travel Grants are intended to cover costs that are not covered by other funding sources.

PROCEDURES AND DEADLINE:

Students seeking assistance should complete the W2017 application form and submit it electronically to Lee-HarrisTravel.Grant@oregonstate.edu. In order that these funds assist as many students as possible, the committee requests that students ask only for necessary funds after exhausting alternatives. Additionally applicants should list all remaining costs, even when they exceed $600. Applications will be reviewed by the Harris Lab committee four times per year. Applications should be submitted by the end of the 4th week of classes. The Harris Lab Committee will review all funding requests simultaneously. Applicants will be informed of the committee’s decision by the end of the 5th week of classes of that term. Applications can be submitted for an event up to one year in advance.

If you have any questions about sources of support for your graduate program, direct them to your major professor or the SFM Graduate Coordinator.

All qualified WSE applicants are considered for financial assistance. No special application or additional materials are required. For full fellowship consideration applications for admission must be submitted and completed by the posted deadline.

Most full-time WS&E graduate students receive financial support. Many students receive a salary via a Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA). Hourly wages, college scholarships, and other financial aid are also available. Most MS students in the Department of Wood Science & Engineering receive financial support for up to two years; most Ph.D. students receive support for up to three years.

If you have any questions about sources of support for your graduate program, direct them to your major professor or the WSE Graduate Coordinator.

Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA)

The majority of graduate student support comes through grants, contracts, and agreements to individual faculty members from a variety of agencies and organizations. These funds are associated with specific research projects and often include a partial or full graduate student stipend, as well as some operational funds to complete the project. Many grants, contracts, and agreements also include tuition or tuition remission and partial or full payment of student fees so that students do not have to pay these expenses. Students supported on a grant, contract, or agreement typically receive a Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA) of 0.20-0.49 full time employment (FTE). The proportional FTE determines the monthly hours worked and amount the student is paid based on a 1.0 FTE amount that is set by the College of Forestry and Graduate School.

GRA stipends are similar to salaries, and include health insurance. GRA stipends are subject to taxes and are provided to cover a student’s living and course related expenses. The GRA stipend usually pays the student to work on a project that may be part of their thesis or dissertation research. Essentially, the GRA stipend allows the student time to complete their coursework and research project by providing the financial resources needed to meet basic living expenses. The assignment is usually to complete a specific research project(s). Due to the typical progression of many research projects, the exact amount of time a student spends on their research project per week may fluctuate during the course of a year. Most grants, contracts, and agreements have additional funds that cover operational expenses associated with completing a research project such as travel, supplies, and minor equipment. Prospective students can learn about potential opportunities for GRA support by contacting individual faculty in their area of interest.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)

Although your department/program may not have many official Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA), there still may be opportunities to serve as a teaching assistant. Teaching assistants are sometimes paid as a GRA even though the responsibilities are to assist in teaching a class. Opportunities that are available are associated with specific courses and faculty members who teach those courses. They are often associated with courses that attract and/or are required for a large number of students. GTA appointments range from 0.20 FTE to 0.49 FTE but are typically awarded at the .20 level. They are similar in all respects to the GRAs described in the previous paragraph except responsibilities to fulfill the assignment are to assist in teaching a class. Current and prospective students can learn about teaching opportunities that might be available by contacting individual faculty who teach courses of interest to them. Some College of Forestry students have been awarded teaching appointments in other OSU departments.

Graduate School Scholarship and Fellowship Programs

Many Graduate School administered programs provide scholarships and fellowships, but most have specific criteria for consideration or are highly competitive. These programs can be found at the following website:

Process: Read the criteria for consideration for each of the Graduate School funding programs carefully to determine if you qualify and if you would be a competitive nominee. It is the responsibility of students and their major professors to identify the programs for which a student may qualify. Departmental fellowship committees screen all potential nominees and make recommendations to the appropriate Department Head. After Department Head approval, nominations are forwarded to the Graduate School.

Students cannot nominate themselves and major professors cannot nominate their students for these awards directly. Please contact your department graduate coordinator for deadlines and other guidance.

University Graduate Student Travel Support

Presenting research results and interacting with colleagues at professional meetings are important parts of all graduate programs. Often, there are some funds available in grants, contracts, and agreements to individual faculty that support graduate student travel to meetings to present results from the funded project. However, there are several other sources of support for travel to meetings that can supplement project funds and are available to graduate students. These programs include the following:

Associated Students of Oregon State University (ASOSU) Human Resources Service Center (HSRC) conference registration subsidy.

The Graduate Conference Registration Subsidy is made available by HSRC to help graduate students pay for their registration costs to educational and professional conferences, which required their attendance for their graduate course of study, up to a total amount of $ 150. Each student can only apply for the subsidy once during a fiscal year. Applications must be for conferences that occurred within the current fiscal year, and must be submitted within 30 days of the conference. Applications and Personal Reimbursement request are available in Snell 233. For more information call 541-737-3747

Graduate School Graduate Student Travel Award program. This program provides "...graduate students with financial support to cover part of the cost of attending and presenting their scholarly achievements at prestigious conferences and venues.” To be nominated for one of these awards, students should contact your department's Graduate Program Coordinator at least one week prior to the award deadline. A full description of this program can be found at the following website: http://gradschool.oregonstate.edu/finance/travel

In addition to fellowship and scholarship programs within OSU, there are many other external programs administered by organizations or agencies. Students may apply directly to these organizations and agencies for these fellowships and scholarships. A partial list of these opportunities is provided by the College of Forestry Research Office and the OSU Graduate School at the following websites:

Financial Aid Workshop

Each year (normally in the fall) the Graduate School and Valley Library jointly present a graduate student financial aid workshop. The workshop is focused on locating sources of support, both internal and external to OSU. It presents ways in which graduate students may be supported at OSU and also explores search tools and techniques for locating external sponsors.